Commissioner for Human Rights

On 8–9 September 2025, a summit of ombudsmen from the Visegrad Group was held in Debrecen, Hungary. The meeting was hosted by the Hungarian Ombudsman for Fundamental Rights. It was the 21st meeting of representatives of National Human Rights Institutions from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in this format. 
The Polish delegation was led by Commissioner for Human Rights Marcin Wiącek, accompanied by: Chief Coordinator for Development and Strategic Cooperation Michał Szwast, Deputy Director of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture Katarzyna Kopystyńska, Director of the Media Relations and Social Communication Department Monika Okrasa, and Magdalena Kurek from the Executive Operations and International Cooperation Department. 
The main topics of this year's meeting were cooperation between ombudsmen in the preventive inspection of places of deprivation of liberty and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. 
The first content point of the summit was a discussion on cooperation between the ombudsmen of the Visegrad Group in the field of preventive inspection of places of detention. This concerns the powers exercised by ombudsmen as National Preventive Mechanisms, based on the mandate conferred on them in the Optional Protocol (OPCAT) to the Convention against Torture. In Poland, this is handled by the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, which operates within the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
The next part of the conference was devoted to the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. First, the summit participants considered how human rights institutions can contribute to the effective implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), with particular emphasis on independent living, equal access to services and the prevention of discrimination.

https://bip.brpo.gov.pl/pl/content/rpo-szczyt-ombudsmanow-v4-2025